A Princess Margaret ad says $15,000 must be raised for six cancer patients to have robotic surgery. It doesn’t mention the patients can still have standard surgery if the cash is not raised.

Dr. Robert Bell, president of the University Health Network, which includes Princess Margaret Hospital, says the six patients mentioned in a fundraising email will still get surgery even if the money is not raised.
They just won’t get high-tech robotic surgery that the hospital is testing.

As part of a crowd-funding effort, an email has been sent to hospital donors and supporters saying that $15,000 must be raised by Feb. 4 so that six cancer patients can have surgery.

“Six people need this surgery. . . . The surgery isn’t possible without you. Please donate today. I’m coming to you because there is no other way,” says the email signed by Laura Syron, the foundation’s vice-president of community programs.

The problem is cancer surgery is publicly covered under medicare, so the ad is a bit of a head-scratcher.

Dr. Bob Bell, president of the University Health Network, which includes Princess Margaret, acknowledges the six patients in question will still get surgery even if the money is not raised.

They just won’t get high-tech robotic surgery that the hospital is testing out as part of a study, he explained. Instead, they would get standard surgery — for example, open or laparoscopic surgery.

“I can understand what you’re saying,” he said, when asked if the ad leaves the wrong impression.

The ad goes on to say: “The challenge is that the cost for this surgery is high: $2,500 per patient.”

In fact, the surgery costs much more than that and the provincial government covers most of the tab. What it doesn’t pay for is a disposable piece of equipment that plugs into the robot, which costs $2,500.

“There isn’t any other way we can do this other than by fundraising, so I guess the truth in the ad is unless the fundraising campaign is successful we won’t be able to do this type of surgery. They could still have surgery but they would not have this particular robotic surgery,” Bell explained.

He said the ad’s intent is to support leading-edge research on robotic surgery that is being done at the hospital.

The ad points out that in addition to covering the cost of the six operations, the $15,000 will also support research on new robotic surgery techniques being led by Dr. Marcus Bernardini.

“Looking at this ad it does give the impression that for required, everyday surgery, they need to fundraise…. It should be made clearer in this ad so that people don’t get the impression that if I have an endometrial cancer I might not be able to access the surgery I need,” she said.

Bell said the jury is still out as to whether robotic surgery is superior to standard surgery, but early results are promising. For prostate surgery, there appears to be fewer side effects, such as impotence and incontinence. That's what Mount Sinai is researching and if it can prove to the province that robotic surgery is superior, then it's possible that it may eventually become the standard of care, Bell said. At that point, the entire bill would be covered by public health insurance.

Alan Middleton, a marketing professor at the Schulich School of Business at York University, said the ad is clearly intended to pull at people’s heartstrings and make them reach for their wallets.

“Is it overstatement? Yes. Is it stretching the truth? Yes,” he said.

“But is it likely (to be) more effective in raising money, and therefore have a positive effect, not just on the six people, but on their trial? The problem is, the answer is also yes.”

Middleton said competition for charitable dollars is fierce and that if the hospital simply asked for money for a study, it wouldn’t be very successful.

“This is hyperbole to prompt a better donation rate,” he said.

NDP health critic France Gélinas agrees that the ad pushes the envelope, but she cuts the hospital some slack.

“We are very fortunate to have Princess Margaret Hospital. It is too bad that research money is so hard to come by that they have to resort to any fundraising they can,” she said.

More on thestar.com

We value respectful and thoughtful discussion. Readers are encouraged to flag comments that fail to meet the standards outlined in our
Community Code of Conduct.
For further information, including our legal guidelines, please see our full website
Terms and Conditions.